Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread olive oil in the bottom of a glass casserole dish. Sprinkle both sides of each breast with the black pepper.

Place breasts smooth side up in casserole dish. Drizzle each breast with 1 tablespoon of honey, 1 tablespoon of the mustard blend, and 1 teaspoon each of the herbs. Place in the preheated oven, uncovered. Cook for 20- 25 minutes. DO NOT OVER COOK. Serve on a bed of sauteed spinach with sauteed yellow squash with onions & mushrooms.

Rinse and pat dry the fillets. Salt and pepper both sides. Melt the butter in a non stick skillet and add fillets. Cook 2 minutes per side, then sprinkle 1 teaspoon of paprika on each of the fillets and continue to heat turning one more time. Add in the bellpeppers, pineapple and juice. Continue to cook until the haddock is done and the peppers are crisp-soft.

Monday, January 25, 2010

Two very similar words, two totally different meanings.Marsala: (sounds just as it's spelled) Italy's most famous fortified wine. These have a rich, smoky flavor, most of which comes from the oxidation during it's aging. It comes in dry (secco), sweet (dolce) & semi sweet (semisecco). It's uses range from aperitifs* (dry Marsala), used in desserts (sweet), or it's also great to cook with.*An aperitif is an alcoholic beverage taken before dinner.Chicken Marsala2- Whole Chicken Breast, wrapped in plastic wrap & pounded flat.Wondra flour for dredging1-tsp- dry rubbed sage, or to taste2 tsp- salt1-2- tsp-pepper2-tbsp of olive oil2 cups of assorted mushrooms1 cup dry MarsalaIn a shallow flat dish, mix the Wondra, sage, salt & pepper. Warm an iron skillet with olive oil on medium. Dredge each breast in the flour mixture and cook in the oil for about 2 minutes per side to brown. Remove and set aside. Next add the mushrooms to the same skillet and saute a few minutes then add the Marsala and bring to a simmer. Place breasts back in pan and continue to cook about 10 more minutes or until breasts are done and sauce is thick & creamy. Serve with garlic mashed potatoes or skillet potatoes.

Masala: A fusion of varried Indian spices. Ranging anywhere from 2-10 different spices depending on the cook! It can include things such as corriander, mace, cardamon, cinnamon & tumeric. What we most commonly know is sold as Garam Masala.

Over medium low heat, in a cast iron skillet, saute the chicken breast in the olive oil. While cooking, sprinkle chicken with the seasonings. Next stir in the bell peppers and scallions; saute as the chicken cooks. Get a nice browning on each side of the chicken before turning. Last pour in the artichokes, oil and all. Using a spatula, pull the artichokes apart slightly and warm through. Remove from heat and serve over rice. California blend makes a good side.

Monday, January 18, 2010

As stated last week, I'm going to try and give you the definition for culinary words that confuse us! So if there are any words or items you are not famialiar with, send them in.Today's words:Chess Pie- Now I know all you Southerner's probably know what a Chess pie is, but I did not!A simple pie made with eggs, sugar, butter and cornmeal. You can also flavor it with lemon juice, vanilla, chocolate or change white sugar for brown. ( I do believe some people use vinegar in the recipe too. If you do would you share?)Bechamel- (bay-shah-MEHL)Generally speaking this is just a white sauce originating in France and is made from butter and flour. Although originating in France the Italians use this sauce on a variety of foods. It is named for Steward Louis Bechamel.

Chess Pie

1 ubaked 9" pie crust- in pan3 eggs, beaten1 1/2 cups of sugar3 tablespoons of melted butter1 tablespoon of white cornmeal1/3 cup of buttermilk1/2 teaspoon of salt1 1/2 teaspoons of vanillaPreheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix all ingredients in with the beaten eggs. Pour into the pie crust and bake on the bottom rack for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 and bake 20 minutes longer.

Friday, January 15, 2010

It seems everyone is making potato soup lately and that includes me. I got the recipe from one of the sites I follow and I must say it turned out very nice. I did replace the 1/2 & 1/2 called for with heavy cream and I added chopped parsley. You can find her recipe here mysoutherntouch.blogspot.com. Her site name is almost the same as mine- isn't that neat.

Thursday, January 14, 2010

I've decided to try and join the Tablescape Thursday crowd (although not connected with the group yet) just doing it for fun. So that being said, here is my Thursday scape. I was inspired by friend Angela with her winter white scene. Although all white makes me feel cold....I decided to warm it up with gold and a bit of green & browns. My pretty snow dove and pine cones My favorite angel of all (I've had at least 20 years.) She has been droppe, broken& put back together 2 times.

Ah, the sun is shining!Simple, but elegant placesetting.I did the sideboard in white too.

It has a very romantic feel to it.

I hope you enjoyed your visit and look forward to more Thursdays with more tablescapes and some "catering" tablescapes in the future as well. :>)

Have you ever ran across a culinary term you weren't familiar with? I know I certainly have. So I have decided to dedicate Monday's to helping with this. I'll be posting new words each week in hopes of helping someone. I also hope you will challenge me by providing words that you're not familiar with. I'll start today with two that I had a hard time with in years past.

Mezzaluna (mehz-zuh-LOO-nuh)A crescent shaped steel chopping blade with a vertical wooden handle at each end. It's used to chop or mince food by rocking side to side on a cutting board. (These things are great by the way!)

Meyer Lemon-

A relatively new member to the lemon family. Imported in 1908 by F.N. Meyer from China. It is believed to be a cross between an orange and a lemon. It has a smoother and rounder surface than a typical lemon. Their color ranges from a deep yellow to almost yellow orange. It consists of a much sweeter and less acidic taste than other lemons and they are available from October until May. Choose heavy fruit for the size and keep refrigerated in plastic. (I find they make the best lemonade as well as flavoring for cakes or pies. I prefer to use a standard lemon for fish or salad dressings or anything that is more on the pungent or savory side.)

Thursday, January 7, 2010

For Christmas this year, the only real "thing" I wanted was a new mixer. Never in my wildest dreams did I really think anyone would buy one for me, but just look! I am thrilled with it. I like the fact that it has a bowl cover too.

Here I'm making a 'no bake' cheese cake (it wasn't very good), but my new mixer is great.It's great for whipping cream- fast & fluffy.

Samantha thought it was pretty cool too.

I'll post as I go along making new recipes with this awesome new gadget. And since it does have a dough beater, maybe I'll try baking some bread too. With 750 hp, it should be a breeze. LOL!Thank you Kristen, my eldest, for this wonderful gift. It truly was a surprise.

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Well, leftover veggies were flowing in my refrigerator yesterday so vegetable beef soup was the answer of the day. It's so simple and so good, plus having all the vegetables ready and available made it cheap too! Yum Hot & steaming Good piece of cornbread & yea for the sunshine!And a nice cuppa to finish it off!

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

No it didn't snow, this was from last year, but it is supposed to snow on Thursday! We woke again for the second morning in a row, in the teens here! That is very unusual for us. So I'm looking forward to making a hot steaming pot of soup today. What kind? I don't know. But one thing is for sure. If I don't have all the ingredients, I'll just make due. Because I'm not getting out unless I must! LOL! What's your favorite soup to have on a cold, blustery day?